2009 Book Challenge

Near the beginning of the year, I was introduced to my first Book Challenge by wonderful friend Sara Lyn of The Brambler. It was mostly based upon something she found on GoodReads--where all my reviews for the books may be found. I started to have a lot of fun keeping track. I didn't include any of the 148 picture books I read, but instead only counted books that were at least 100 pages long.

My main goal was to complete each category. I had no idea I would get as many points as I did! It was definitely one of the most fun things I did all year long, and it helped me broaden my reading scope. I am very grateful for that and cannot wait until whatever similar challenge I do next year. Currently I'm considering creating my own. We'll see if I continue. It would have to be something that ties in with the 2010 YA Book Challenge.

So here is my list of what will be finished by Dec. 31st. I have some (sometimes confusing) markings after each title/author which were helping me keep various statistics. (I'm a stats fan!) I tallied up various stats at the end of the list, if you're interested. You'll have to forgive any addition errors on my part. I've ben re-counting books so often, I get a little jumbled.

* = audio
~ = YA
# = children’s (non-picture book)
! = nonfiction
+ = reread
- = from my local library

5 points

1) For Valentines Day: read a book with the word heart or love in it.

I’d Tell You I Love You But Then I’d Have to Kill You – Ally Carter ~ -
The Five Love Languages: Singles Edition – Gary Chapman ! -
Love, Ruby Lavender – Deborah Wiles * # -

2) For Saint Patty’s day: read a book set in Ireland, is by an Irish author, or whose main character is Irish.

Nory Ryan’s Song ­– Patricia Reilly Giff # -
Maggie’s Door – Patricia Reilly Giff * # -

3) read a classic

Peter Pan – J.M. Barrie * # -

4) Read a book by an author you've never read before

The Fire-Eaters – David Almond * ~ -
The Lightning Thief – Rick Riordan * ~ -
Peace like a River – Leif Enger * -
Betsy-Tacy – Maud Hart Lovelace #
Mandie and the Secret Tunnel – Lois Gladys Lepperd # - (finish)

5) Read a memoir

Marley & Me – John Grogan * ! -

6) March is National Women's History Month so read a book where a woman is the main character

Hope Was Here – Joan Bauer * ~ -
Bloody Jack – Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary “Jacky” Faber, Ship’s Boy – L.A. Meyer * ~ -
The Goose Girl – Shannon Hale ~ -
Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief – Wendelin Van Draanen * # -

7) Read a book set during a time of conflict

Before We Were Free – Julia Alvarez * ~ -
Enna Burning – Shannon Hale ~ -

8) read a book with any kind of food/drink in the title

Who Moved My Cheese? – Spencer Johnson * ! -
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows * -
Cream Puff Murder – Joanne Fluke * -
Everything on a Waffle – Polly Horvath * # -
Plum Pudding Murder – JoAnne Fluke * -

9) read a book written in the last 5 years

Carrot Cake Murder – Joanne Fluke * -
For One More Day – Mitch Albom * -
Counting on Grace – Elizabeth Winthrop * ~ -
Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says about Us) – Tom Vanderbilt * ! -
River Secrets ­­– Shannon Hale ~ -
Forest Born – Shannon Hale ~ -
The Magician’s Elephant – Kate DiCamillo # -

10) Read a book that you already own

If Life Were Easy, It Wouldn’t Be Hard – Sheri Dew * ! +
Personal Revelation: How to Recognize Promptings of the Spirit – JoAnn Hibbert Hamilton * !
The Book of Mormon ­– edited by Mormon; translated by Joseph Smith, Jr. ! +

5 points category: 165 points

10 points

1) read a book with the name of a month in it.

September Sisters – Jillian Cantor ~ -

2) read a book with an author that has same birthday month as you

Thirteen Reasons Why – Jay Asher ~ -
Matilda – Roald Dahl * # -
Ella Enchanted - Gail Carson Levine * # + -

3) read a book with either the word “school”,“class”, "college", "university" or "teacher" in it.

The Teacher’s Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts – Richard Peck * ~ -

4) read a book and then watch the movie adaptation

Inkheart – Cornelia Funke * ~ -
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas – John Boyne * ~ -

5) read a book that involves a medical condition (physical, mental, emotional)

Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox – Eoin Colfer * ~
Chocolate Fever – Robert Kimmel Smith * # -
Ida B – Katherine Hannigan * # -

6) read a book with a one word title

Impossible ­– Nancy Werlin ~ -
Incantation – Alice Hoffman * ~ -
Frindle – Andrew Clements * # -
Wings – Aprilynne Pike ~ -
Poppy – Avi * # -
Inkspell – Cornelia Funke * ~ -

7) read a book with the name of a country, state, or city in it.

Cold Sassy Tree – Olive Ann Burns * -
Elijah of Buxton – Christopher Paul Curtis * # -
Meet Me in St. Louis – Sally Benson
Misty of Chincoteague – Marguerite Henry * # -
London Calling – Edward Bloor * ~ -
Two Girls of Gettysburg ­– Lisa Klein ~ -

8) read a banned/challenged book

The Giver – Lois Lowry * # + -
My Sister’s Keeper – Jodi Picoult * -
The Bad Beginning – Lemony Snicket * # -
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – J.K. Rowling * ~ + -
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling * ~ + -
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling * ~ + -
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K. Rowling * ~ + -
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling * ~ + -
Bud, Not Buddy – Christopher Paul Curtis * # -
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling * ~ + -
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling * ~ + -

9) read a book set in a place you've always wanted to visit/live

The Little White Horse – Elizabeth Goudge #
Charles & Emma – Deborah Heiligman ! -
Looking for Anne of Green Gables – Irene Gammel ! -
Call It Courage – Armstrong Sperry * ~ -
North of Beautiful –by Justina Chen Headley ~ -
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy – Gary D. Schmidt * ~ -
Mary Poppins – P.L. Travers * # -

10) read a book written by someone of your same heritage (i.e. Belgian, Swiss, whatever)

Snow Falling in Spring: Coming of Age in China during the Cultural Revolution - Moying Li-Marcus # ! -
Dragon Rider – Cornelia Funke * # -
The Thirteenth Tale – Diane Setterfield * -
The Cricket on the Hearth and Other Christmas Stories – Charles Dickens -
The Magician’s Nephew – C.S. Lewis * # + -

10 points category: 450 points

15 points

1) read a book that has a college student as the main character or is a person that is near your age

Newes from the Dead – Mary Hooper ~ -
The Man in the Picture – Susan Hill -
Daddy Long Legs – Jean Webster ~

2) read a book from an author that was born/or had lived in your state/geographical area

The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch * ! -
Shakespeare’s Secret – Elise Broach * ~ -
Remember this Titan: The Bill Yoast Story: Lessons Learned from a Celebrated Coach's Journey – Bill Yoast, Jr. ! -

3) read a book about/relating to the particular field of study you are in/were in

Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World – Vicki Myron ! -
The Book Thief – Markus Zusak * ~ -
Here Lies the Librarian – Richard Peck * ~ -
The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen ­– Syrie James * -

4) Read a book written by a GoodReads author

A Curse Dark as Gold – Elizabeth C. Bunce ~ -
The Adoration of Jenna Fox – Mary E. Pearson * ~ -
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet – Jamie Ford * -
Shanghai Girls – Lisa See * -

5) Read a book about a person you admire

One Gallant Rush: Robert Gould Shaw and His Brave Black Regiment – Peter Burchard ! -
Where Death and Glory Meet: Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry – Russell Duncan ! -

6) Read a book about a subject you wish you could have studied in school

Marie, Dancing – Carolyn Meyer * ~
Chasing Vermeer – Blue Balliett * # -

7) read a book by an author you hate (Maybe you just got turned off by one book and he/she is actually a good author... you might have just read the one bad book? Or maybe your hatred is warranted.. either way you'll know for sure)

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll * # -
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There – Lewis Carroll * # -

8) read that book you were supposed to read in high school but instead used SparkNotes (Heidi Note: I never used SparkNotes—or Cliff Notes! But here’s a book I should have read and didn’t)

Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens * -

15 points category: 315 points

25 points

1) book with over 700 pages

Mao: The Unknown Story – Jung Chung * ! -

2) read a book with your name in the title or is by an author with your same name.

Heidi – Johanna Spyri * # + -

3) read a book about a different religion than you are

The Redemption of Sarah Cain – Beverly Lewis * -
Catherine, Called Birdy – Karen Cushman * ~ -
Confessions of a Closet Catholic – Sarah Littman # -Have a Little Faith – Mitch Albom * ! -

4) read a book that you would normally never consider picking up (something daunting, something that is a genre you hate. Etc.)

All-American Girl – Meg Cabot * ~ -
Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie – David Lubar * ~ -
Anthem – Ayn Rand -
Return to Labyrinth Vol. 2 – Jake T. Forbes ~ -
Return to Labyrinth Vol. 3 – Jake T. Forbes ~ -

25 points category: 275 points

Grand Points Tally

1205

And here are some interesting (to me) statistics:

Total books from this list: 110 books

Total (adult) nonfiction: 16

Total (childrens) nonfiction: 1

Total (adult) fiction: 16

Total (YA) fiction: 46

Total (childrens) fiction: 29

I'm 2 off, if you counted. I have no idea which ones I forgot. Oh well.

Total re-reads: 13

Total from my library: 101 (Which helped me in completing--twice over--the 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge.)

Total Audio: 75. (Which helped me in completing--5 times over!--the 2009 Audio Book Challenge.)